Tackling Domestic Abuse and Violence

Tackling Domestic Violence

Figures from Women’s Aid show that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse with 2 women each week being killed by their former or current partner. Domestic Abuse can be where one person physically attacks the other or it may be another form of abuse such as emotional, sexual or financial abuse.

Getting out of an abusive relationship isn’t easy but there are people that can help. Charter can help you through every stage of the process from disclosure to the police, protecting your home, accessing specialist support and, where necessary, accessing alternative accommodation.

Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse; from a partner, family member – man or woman. Protecting our resident is important to us and Charter want to make sure all victims of domestic abuse feel safe and supported in their homes. There are a number of ways we can provide help.

Domestic Abuse facts and figures

In the U.K police receive a telephone call relating to domestic abuse incident every minute

A child is present or in an adjacent room during 90% of all domestic abuse incidents

Nearly 75% of children on the child protection register live in households with domestic abuse

Research shows that 20,000 girls in the U.K could be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation

In 2012 The Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support to 1,500 people but many more cases are unreported

Domestic abuse could happen to anyone in any relationship; this also includes young people being abusive towards a parent or abuse directed at elderly people. We know domestic abuse is still under reported both to the police and agencies who can provide support – if you are experiencing abuse or are concerned about anyone who you think may be in an abusive relationship please contact one of the agencies below who will be able to provide support and advice.

How does Charter deal with cases of Domestic Violence?

Disclosure

There are a number of avenues the information may be disclosed to Charter:

From you – If you tell us that you are suffering from Domestic Violence we will immediately discuss with you your level of risk. This can be over the phone, at your home or we can arrange to meet you somewhere you feel safe. We can then assess your circumstance and help put you in touch with agencies that can help. We will offer you joint visit with Specialist agencies that deal with domestic violence

Through the police – The main way is where a report is made to the police. This will either be through a daily conference call or through a process called MARAC – Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference. This provides Charter with up to date information of cases that are reported through the police and once a fortnight, if our tenants are involved, we attend a meeting with other agencies to see what we can do to put together an action plan for supporting victims. We will contact before we attend this meeting to see if there are any measures we can put in place to protect you straight away.

First steps

When any agency first hears that you are suffering from domestic abuse, their first step is to assess your level of danger. This is done using a DASH assessment. This is a series of questions that you could be asked by any agency with staff specially trained in asking the questions. Based on the answer you provide we will know whether we need to refer your case into the MARAC process or whether you need other forms of support.

Support Agencies

There people out there who can help you. Charter can help put you in touch with agencies to meet your support needs or who you might just want to have a quick chat with about your options as far as finding someone to help you take legal action against the person responsible. You can contact agencies directly or speak to your neighbourhood manager for a referral. Some of the services provided by these support agencies are listed with this article.

Target Hardening – What Charter can do to make you safer in your home

Whilst some victims will need to leave their homes straight away, others will stay in their homes where Charter will put in place what are known as ‘target hardening’ measures to make sure you and your family are kept safe. Some of the things we may do are:

Change your lock – If we believe that you would be safer if your locks were changed, we can request that this is done by our carpenters. This will be done where the perpetrator of the abuse is known to have access to keys to the property or the current locks are inadequate.

Extra Security locks – we can inspect all locks on windows and doors at your home and where necessary. This might be as simple as putting a chain on your door or installing a spy hole or as advanced as fitting intruder alarms on your windows.

Confidentiality

If you talk to any organisation about domestic abuse the information will always be treated confidentially, however if we have reason to believe that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm we would have to notify social services in order to make sure everyone is safe.

Useful numbers and contacts

Click here for more information on local Domestic Abuse support Agencies